Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-11-10
eunKoED IN CHICAGO,
asw NJ. Quad Invested Some of His Spar
Cash In the Gaxx1an Cifr


Hew Nj. Quad Invested Some of His Spare
Cash in tho Garden City.
You read about the bunko game
every day or two but do you know
what it is? Something was said in q
Chicago paper the other day about my
being bunkoed in that city couple
of weeks ago. deny the allegation
in the most vigorous manner. I can
take the reporter who wrote that item
by the heels and make him wish in
about a minute that he had been born
hundred years earlier or later. It is
the basest slander-the meanest cam
paign scandal-the boldest falsehood
since 1872
Before proceeding further let me say
that the word bunko is sometimes
spelled bunco. You can have it either
way You like. but the game is nearly
always the same, and all victims feel
the same,
Play the bunko game on me? Why,
knew that game thirty years ago,
and claim to be able to tell bunko-
steerer from a lawyer a whole block
away. Indeed, I've had bunko men
drop around to tell me that was the
very last man on the face of the earth
they'd think of running up against /
might be roped in with a gold brick,
but a bunko-never.
had just come out of the fremont
House and turned up State street,
when a good-looking young fellow halt
ed me, extended his hand for a shake
and exclaimed:
"Why. Quad, old fellow, how are
you, and how are all the folks in De-
troitP''
smiled. / smiled because knew
he was a bunko-steerer.' He had got
my name and town from the hotel reg
ister, after the usual fashion But I
shook his hand and replied that / was
pretty well, and that Detroit was daily
improving. What's the use of trying o
20 crush a bunko-steerer into lifeless
mass without word of warning? Be-
sides, 1 wanted little fun, and
thought I'd see how far he'd go. Mind
You, knew he was bunko-steerer-
knew it as we'll as knew that was in
Chicago.
I'm awful glad to see any one from
Detroit" he continued. II suppose
you see father almost every day2'
l assured him that / saw his father
semi-daily, and that the old gent was
looking as happy as a Hubbard squash
at fair time. This seemed to relieve
his intense anxiety on that point, and
he invited me to have cigar. No man
who can get good cigar at the ex-
pense of a bunko-steerer should refuse
it We entered gilded den of devil
try, devoted to the sale of tobacco, and
got our weeds, and as we sauntered
up State street we seemed band of
brothers knew what his next move
would be. and was ready for him.
We had not gone two blocks when
he halted and said:
'.Ah! this calls to mind / bought a
lottery ticket the other day and it
drew little prize. This must be the
place where they cash it Yes. this is
the place
I congratulated him on his luck. /
told him / had been buying lottery
tickets ever since the year one, and
had never ret struck a prize.
by the way. come up with me a
minute" he said, as he looked at his
ticket These fellows may be all
right, or they may be full of tricks. At
any rate I'd like a friend along"
l went Who's afraid of a bunko-
steerer? was chuckling to myself all
the time, and was willing to give the
fellow a little more rope. We ascend
ed to the third floor and entered an
office. There were two well-dressed
men in there. They didn't seem to
know my friend. and he looked around
him as if he hadn't been in that very
room five hundred times before.
..This-this ticket hit "a prize yes
terday, didn't itp'' he asked, as he
produced the paper.
Eyes, sir-three hundred and fifty
dollars" was the reply. Jim, give
the gentleman his money"
1t was counted out. Then the gen.
tlemen explained to me that they had
a daily drawing, and cashed prizes at
once. That the way the bunko game
is always played. and nobody need be
taken in.
j invest! Ring in on ne~psrd
chestnut of that color! Take me for
a granger from Posey County! But.
after a little reflection, 1 thought I'd
try it. 1t might be all right after
ali. While they looked like
bunko-men. one can't always judge
by looks. 1 invested six dollars
and hit prize of ten dollars. 1 was
four dollars ahead. and I'd give them
the grin and walk out L But it q
invested the ten dollars I'd probably
hit twenty dollars. and-and-well. I
invested the ten dollars. j lost it. but
was assured that I'd have better luck
next time. Iknew that as well as they
did. No bunko-man can teach me
any thing. I invested ten dollars
moro and lost. Then invested twen-
tydollars more and lost Then / put
in thirty dollars and lost Then re-
membered that had agreed to meet a
man at the First National Bank at ten
o'clock, and babe them good morn
ing and tripped gaily down stairs.
stopping at the door long enough to
ask them if it was good day for suck
erS.
Now, that's all there was to it. and
that's all the foundation that Chicago
paper had for saying that was
bunked. / identified the steerer the
moment he addressed me. knew the